[b]February 5th, 4901 YDC (Yllendyr Dynastic Calendar)[/b]
[i]Vermillion Citadel, Ylleria, Capital of the Imperial Yllendyr Sovereignty[/i]

[img]https://i.pinimg.com/474x/4d/cb/16/4dcb16b4db4a603ebc7aa0aa2a9d3749--dark-elf-my-character.jpg[/img]
[i]Portrait of 76th Emperor Ecruir Vyalviur of the Yllendyr, First of His Name, Bane of the Barbarians, Sovereign and Protector of the Fifteen Dominions of V'landriel, clad in the traditional vermillion garb of the Vyalviur Dynasty[/i]

Ecruir paced back and forth alongside an intricate, table-carved map of the Fifteen Dominions: Lumenor, Kitagawa, Fibor, Endaria, Velendaal, Vaspen, Lierin, Aurelia, Fenice, Ot-Skodat, Zeeborg-Fallia, the Forest, Vaurgemyr, Drzewa, and Avalia. He traced his fingers along its curves, recalling his coronation a few days ago. The Keeper of Ylleria speaking all these words.

Just a few days, and already that number had in reality fallen to fourteen, likely thirteen soon, if that, not even counting those that had defected to his brother. The Avalians were in open rebellion, having launched a coup against that Imperium-backed puppet, King Holfgar. The Viceroy Yirlu assassinated in the Dominion of Kitagawa, and the whole country falling into chaos. Disorganized Yllendyr [i]auxilia[/i], genuine shames to the glory of the Imperium, defecting or worse in both of those countries, turning to petty banditry like the filthy unwashed barbarians that most of them were, despite the discipline the Yllendyr had tried to beat into them. Such disgrace only reinforced Ecruir's dismissive attitude of his father's policies towards integration. Sixty years of that had gotten him nowhere.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the Imperial Conclave. These were the group of advisors that managed each of the critical sectors of the Imperium's government. They were all selected by his father, but he had taken the liberty of replacing a few of them upon his ascension.

Leading the procession into the room was the Minister of War, by almost any measure the man of the moment. His name was Ludrami Diesriniel, and he was first and foremost among the batch of new recruits. A man whose reputation well preceded him, the famed general of the campaign to suppress a dangerous revolt in the Kitagawa Shogunate. His legendary military tactics annihilated troops that many in the Imperium government felt were impossible to defeat from their suicidal courage. Now was the time in which his military experience was more relevant than ever. He had replaced the ineffectual woman who had been in charge for the last forty years, whose achievements seemed to amount to no more than putting ever more ornate designs and ceremonial dresses on Imperium troops. Ludrami was a real warrior in an age which had begun to forget war, who took seriously the grave threat the Imperium faced in this fatal hour and knew best how to crush it in its infancy.

Moving up to the right hand side of the table, he briefly bowed. "Your Imperial Majesty." The others followed him in this, assembling on both sides of the table, eleven in all. War, Dominion Administration, Agriculture, Commerce, Securitariat, Treasury, Judiciary, Health, Transportation, Education, and Colonial Affairs.

The Minister of the Securitariat was also new, a man by the name of Cinvad Eldroth, as the one for the last twenty years had proven considerably incompetent. Missing the Avalian coup was already bad enough, but the assassination was yet another nail in the coffin.

Ecruir couldn’t be bothered to actually follow the formal order of reporting in to the Emperor, so when the Minister of Agriculture opened his mouth to speak he just dismissively cut in.

“Ludrami, I presented all the relevant information on the rebellions in Avalia and unrest elsewhere to you yesterday, as well as the forces led by my errant brother. I have some ideas, but I would first like to hear your impressions on the state of the Imperium, and how best we can address these… problems.” The slight hesitation and tone of the last word packed an almost tangible amount of menace and disgust.

Ludrami took it in stride. The old man thought for a moment, then began, “Unfortunately, you must go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. There is simply no better way to put this situation than to describe it as a disaster. A dominion has declared independence, and a few more seem to be sitting on the fence, ready to pounce like vultures on our corpse if we show weakness.”

Ecruir nodded. “We must move swiftly to crush any unrest in these dominions to knock such foolish notions out of their heads.”

“With all due respect, Your Imperial Majesty,” the Minister of War reluctantly began raising his head, “that is a suicidal idea. If you spread your forces too thin, you will lose every battle instead of winning some.”

Ecruir looked slightly browbeaten at this, but he was still listening. “So, then, what do you suggest?”

“We keep what we have. Start at the center. We should pull as many forces from the nearby loyal dominions we can afford without endangering our hold over them to crush the pretender Olarth in the south. This will render you the sole Emperor, and so the Imperial Sentinels will pledge loyalty to you. This [i]is[/i] the army you want. Once we have reunited the Crownlands, we then turn to the remaining loyal dominions. We reinforce them and ensure that they will not fall to native unrest. When that is done, finally we can turn to the rebellious dominions, place our full force upon them, and complete their resubjugation. There is no reason we should push to retake these places immediately with our current position so untenable.”

“While I am sure this is sound military advice, politically, this makes no sense. Leaving the rebellious provinces alone, with no penalties for their insolence, is something I cannot stand, and will encourage the others to revolt just as swiftly. We cannot wait for the Sentinels to decide they finally want to help crush the rebellions, the traitors.” Ecruir spat on the ground.

There was an evil twinkle in Ludrami’s eye, despite the vitriolic words Ecruir had just spouted at him. “I never suggested we leave the rebellious provinces alone entirely. Rather, we should make an example of the one which has been most successful. Avalia, was it? I think that serves a perfect testing ground.”

A moment of dawning recognition fell upon Ecruir's face. "The Southern Fleet."

"Absolutely," replied Ludrami. We can hit the enemy hard, reinforce any forces in the area which might have been cut off, evacuate any forces as need be, and we can also hit them from the sides."

Vaenda Ordul, Minister of Dominion Administration, stepped forward. "If I may, Your Imperial Majesty."

Ecruir nodded, this was another person he valued input from. She had been working closely with the Viceroys for many years, and had a much better grasp of how each Dominion functioned.

"Both Dominions around Avalia are very loyal to the Imperium. While in Avalia we have only five legions which have remained solvent albeit with considerable defections, the other three disbanding, in Vaurgemyr and Ot-Skodat, we have eight and six respectively. That should be more than sufficient to regain control of the region. In the north, we can order the deployment of Velendaal troops to Kitagawa to do the same, provided they don't side with Olarth. I recommend issuing a directive to all three Dominions allowing the mobilization of local armies."

"That seems like a wise course of action, I'll do that," Ecruir replied. He nodded. "Okay, let's go over the other Dominions, so I can be sure of what we have where."

Ludrami continued. "We have two auxilia in Lumenor, but I don't expect that to be an issue, they're too busy freezing to rebel." The Emperor chuckled slightly. Kitagawa is a similarly bad situation, there are reports that two legions have disbanded already out of ten, and a third seems to have outright defected. Vaspen, the same, and there are reports of militant movements in the mountains. Both nations seem likely to make moves soon."

Ecruir looked to another man on the right side of the table, the Securitariat Minister, Cinvad. Nodding, he began: "We've got agents working at full capacity in both dominions, and we've deployed riot police in most major cities. Still, the unrest is... impressive. The situation in Kitagawa is particularly intense, so we were forced to ask the Auxilia to substitute. That didn't turn out so well, so we're shipping in reinforcements as fast as we can. I'm afraid we'll have to open up machine gun fire on civilians if this keeps up. The networks in both Dominions are really sadly lacking from my predecessor's tenure, which makes it difficult to prevent. I'm working around the clock to reform our operatives in the other dominions to prevent such a debacle from happening again."

Vaenda briefly cut in, leaning over the left side of the table, "We've appointed a new Viceroy as Shogun, Adolo's brother Rhekin. We're sending him to the Treaty Port of Nilrandell, where his administration is bound to be more secure. I wouldn't count on the survivability of any Yllendyr in Nankyo nowadays. However, it will take a week, and communication is very sporadic. Many of the auxilia are disorganized and taking unilateral action, and one has even disgracefully chosen to side with the Emperor, officers and all."

Ecruir looked shocked. "That's very concerning. Is there an apparent reason?"

Vaenda gave him a deadpan look. "Yes, it's the man who's brother you ordered executed last month for treason."

The Emperor winced a little. "And the others? Where looks the most precarious?"

The Securitariat minister looked up from his notes and spoke up. "Aurelia's a trouble spot, as expected. Some sabotage has already been reported. I've ordered all operatives there to be extra vigilant. We're not sure about Fenice and Zeeborg-Fallia, but they could just be biding their time. I just hope most don't flip to Olarth, as that would complicate our plans immensely."

Ecruir's green eyes flashed dangerously. "We'll have to make it clear that any Dominion which sides with him will face dire retribution, and any who cooperate with his forces will be executed for treason. This is not the right side to be on. I expect you all to move to carry out your duties immediately."

The three nodded. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," they chorused in unison.

---

[i]Letter from the True 76th Emperor of the Imperial Yllendyr Sovereignty, His Imperial Majesty Olarth Vyalviur, to the Fifteen Dominions[/i]

I write to you today with grave news, though you may have already heard it. Upon the death of my father, the Emperor Naerzo, and my brother Vomlur, the Crown Prince, this Imperium was thrown into chaos. My twin brother, Ecruir, has killed the Fourth Prince, has locked down his grip over the capital and the northern cities, and plans even now to kill me and crush any who stand in the way of his vision.

I write to call upon your oath to the true Emperor, not this murderer. For too long, the Imperium has been a force for more evil than good upon the world. The time is right for us to rediscover our mission, our purpose in this world. We are the protectors of the Fifteen Dominions, not the looters and slavedrivers of the realm. I ask for your aid in deposing this evil traitor who would see you all cast once again in chains and whipped yet harder.

As Emperor, I will grant all Dominions the right to self-government as vassal nations, and cease to impose our foreign rules and political systems upon those who would like to be governed differently. I will end the practice of tribute taken from the Dominions, beyond that which is used to maintain its military forces and infrastructure. Finally, I will abolish the abominable practice of slavery across the Imperium. I ask all nations to help in spite of our differences to build a brighter future for all our peoples.

Sincerely,
Emperor Olarth